Diary:
'After a month of observation, I will make a summary today.'
"The entire city, from top to bottom, exudes a sense of desperate terror."
"Although I am farming, I always feel that the medicinal plants before me are not quite right, as if those medicinal plants... are like people..."
"Also... although I have no cultivation on me, I always feel that these cultivators and martial artists are very weak... as if, with just a little effort, I could easily stab them to death."
"In my dreams at night, I even dreamt of attaining eternal life, of becoming a mortal immortal in the martial path... and I also went to a place called the Nine Nether Myriad Graves..."
Under the faint candlelight, Chen Jiuyang finished writing his summary and then carefully recorded it, placing the paper on the candlelight to burn.
If this secret of his were discovered, his fate would be worse than death.
After watching the paper turn to ash, Chen Jiuyang continued to write with charcoal:
'After my month of observation, this Qingyao City is divided into nine tiers.'
'The top three tiers go without saying.'
'The middle three tiers are those veteran mortal martial artists who have established families, built careers, and even spread their branches in Qingyao City.'
'The seventh tier are those women with good looks. They go to the medicinal fields in the morning and become women of the night, earning money to establish themselves faster, and are extremely hard on themselves.'
'The eighth tier are those who have stepped into the martial path with some strength but have families to support.'
'The ninth tier are those who spend their lives in Qingyao City without any family or strength.'
'And I am one of the unranked, yet to establish a firm foundation for survival.'
Chen Jiuyang placed this diary page under his bed and was contemplating where to inquire about cultivation techniques and prices the next day when.
"Swish, thump, thump." sounds echoed in the courtyard.
The courtyard Chen Jiuyang rented had a total of six rooms: four side rooms, a woodshed, and a privy. As for cooking, a small earthen stove was set up in front of their own doors.
The four side rooms were occupied by a middle-aged man, two elderly men, and one vacant room.
The commotion alerted everyone in the small courtyard, and even Chen Jiuyang couldn't help but open his door to take a look.
He saw a young couple in their early twenties, led by the landlord, entering the vacant side room late at night. The young couple then began carrying luggage in and out, making quite a bit of noise.
An old man living in the east side room smacked his lips: "Oh my, this young wife's backside is so round."
The middle-aged man in the west side room sneered: "Old Man Zhu, it's admirable that you, who are about to enter the coffin, still have such thoughts. But I wonder if you have any other use besides urinating."
Grandpa Lan, who lived in the south side room next to Chen Jiuyang, said:
"Xiao Guo, say less. Since they've moved in to be neighbors, it's a form of destiny. Old Man Zhu, I'm warning you, stop having any ideas about the young couple. Is it easy to get married in Qingyao City? If I find you doing anything suspicious, I'll get two pieces of wood from Xiao Chen Jiuyang's woodshed and break your legs."
Seeing the two of them gang up on him, Old Man Zhu chuckled sheepishly, closed his door, and returned to his room.
The alley courtyard returned to peace, and Chen Jiuyang also went back to his woodshed.
The middle-aged man surnamed Guo, Old Man Zhu, and Old Man Lan were at least third-tier masters with martial arts skills, otherwise, how could they have escaped the fate of being mere laborers in the medicinal fields? Chen Jiuyang could also try to get close to them to learn cultivation techniques, but he didn't intend to do so.
When learning cultivation techniques, it's best to stay away from people close to you.
However, just as he thought the night would pass as calmly as usual.
"Rumble!!"
The heavens and earth shook, waking everyone in the city. The end of the sky outside was ablaze with clouds, as if a meteor had fallen.
This was the commotion caused by cultivators fighting.
The young couple who had just moved in took a glance and returned to their room to sleep. Chen Jiuyang did the same, while only Old Man Zhu and a few others gazed at the sky all night.
As the roosters crowed at dawn, Chen Jiuyang got up. As usual, a large crowd was heading out of the city, and many, like Chen Jiuyang, hadn't slept well.
Grabbing two steamed buns and tucking them into his怀, he headed straight for his medicinal field. Upon arriving at the field, he found that the usual martial artist stewards were harvesting the medicinal plants, and by the edge of the field stood Wu Shuang'er, the shopkeeper of the city's pharmacy.
A female cultivator, dressed in a white dress, wearing a veil, and holding a translucent ice-blue long sword, hovered high in the sky, watching the scene.
Chen Jiuyang secretly thought that some of these medicinal plants were harvested annually, some every three years, and some every five years. He was in charge of the annual harvest, but this batch of medicinal plants had not yet fully matured; there was still a month before they were fully ripe. Could it be related to the fiery clouds and tremors from last night?
Wu Shuang'er, the pharmacy shopkeeper standing before the medicinal field, looked at Chen Jiuyang and asked, "Are you in charge of this medicinal field?"
Chen Jiuyang cupped his fists and replied, "Reporting to you, sir, it is indeed this young one who is in charge."
Wu Shuang'er's expressionless face moved slightly: "You have managed it well, and the yield is acceptable. You can become an intern apprentice at our pharmacy."
Chen Jiuyang showed a look of 'joy': "Thank you, sir."
Wu Shuang'er casually tossed a small wooden plaque in front of Chen Jiuyang: "Starting today, come to the pharmacy every afternoon."
If the medicinal fields were not managed well, the stewards overseeing them would punish the laborers. Going to the pharmacy as an intern apprentice in the afternoon was a threshold that had screened many people.
Chen Jiuyang put away the wooden plaque, his heart unmoved. Being noticed by the city's pharmacy as an apprentice during his first harvest of medicinal plants did not evoke any emotional fluctuations in him; he felt it was within his expectations.
However, he still had to go through the motions of feigning surprise and joy to turn his fortunes around.
After the martial artist stewards had finished harvesting the medicinal plants, the female cultivator standing in the air gently flicked a finger, and a gentle breeze swept the medicinal plants into the air, collecting them into a spatial ring. With a light sprinkle from the air, seeds of medicinal plants fell, and she moved on to the next medicinal field.
The martial artist stewards immediately turned the soil and told Chen Jiuyang to sow the seeds.
Sowing was simple. Chen Jiuyang finished his work before noon and headed to the 'Yikang' pharmacy in Qingyao City with his wooden plaque.
A grand pharmacy appeared before Chen Jiuyang.
A manager directly told him to go to the backyard, where about a dozen boys and girls, dressed in worn clothes and of similar age to him, were standing.
"Those who can read, step forward."
Wu Shuang'er, dressed in a blue dress, said expressionlessly.
Although Chen Jiuyang could read, he didn't move first. Instead, he observed the others. He noticed that half of the boys and girls could read, and then he also silently stepped forward.
Chen Jiuyang looked at Wu Shuang'er, dressed in the blue dress before him, and felt a strange sense of familiarity...
He felt as if he knew this Wu Shuang'er...
He also had a vague feeling that this Wu Shuang'er did not seem like a living person.
What exactly was going on?